It's Been a Long Day
by Jayne Leigh
Summary: My version of the ending of the series. Please review!


**Okay, so I did love the final…Except I was completely devastated with how they dealt with the Mary/Marshall storyline. I don't know really what it was, just seemed like they ignored how brilliantly Fred Weller played Marshall, 'silently in love and waiting for her' and turned it into something else. Even if they would have just added a 'I did love you for a long time but now I've moved on' I would have accepted that and totally understood. To me, it seems like they pushed the one of the main storylines aside for other things that wasn't as necessary.**

**Anyway, as I said I did love the final but just wanted something more and waiting for something to happen that never. Here is my version of how I would have loved for it to end! I stole lines from the show and the song that was played because it was amazingly perfect! Please review! **

**Enjoy! **

**It's Been a Long Day**

Mary couldn't help but smile when she glanced around the table at her friends and family. Her eyes settled on Kenny who was leaning down talking with Delia and Stan, charming them. It had been a whim to invite him…He had called her while she was getting ready and she found herself asking him to go with her.

She had been thinking about Marshall and what he said about letting him go because it was time they both moved on. She meant it when she said she wanted Marshall to be happy and to marry Abigail if she was the one that he wanted to be with but it didn't mean it didn't hurt.

He was right when he said what they had was indefinable, he was more than a friend to her…more than a member of her family…He was Marshall…He was the only one she truly trusted…The only one she could let in…He was her first phone call when she needed help…When she needed anything.

She understood why he had asked her to release him. She understood why Abigail was worried about their friendship. She remembered during her engagement to Raphael and how he tried to fill the role Marshall played but she would not let him.

Marshall loved Abigail and unlike her with Raph, he wanted make her his number one priority.

So, Mary was going to step back, no matter how hard it was because aside from Norah, Marshall was her number one priority and his happiness meant the world to her.

She took a shaky breath and tried to calm her emotions. She refused to get teary eyed over it especially when there were so many people around.

She turned to look to the right when she heard Norah laughing and she smiled again when she saw Jinx and Brandi pulling faces at her daughter.

Her eyes then landed on the empty chair besides her Mom. Frowning a little and she looked around the room but her partner was nowhere in sight.

She excused herself but everyone was too caught up in their own conversations that they didn't notice her stand up and head for the exit.

Stopping in the restaurant doorway, she watched Marshall who was stood leaning against the wall with a glass of champagne in his hand, staring up at the stars.

"Hey, Chief…" She said softly, walking over to join him.

He jumped at the sound of her voice but when he looked across at her, he smiled. "Hey."

"What you doing out here?" She questioned. "There's a party going on inside, you know?"

"I just needed some air." He replied, tilting his head upwards again to return his gaze to the night sky.

Mary nodded a little and they fell into a comfortable silence for a few seconds before she broke it.

"So, where's Abigail? Is she still mad?" She asked, referring to his fiancée's excuse for not coming to her Father's fake-wake.

Marshall sighed quietly. "I guess…"

"Seriously?" She folded her arms across her chest. "She couldn't put whatever it is aside for one night?"

"Mare…"

"I mean, I can understand about the fake-wake but tonight is for Stan…" She continued. "And you...we're celebrating your promotion too and she's can't be bothered to be here…"

"Mare, we broke up." He said quickly before she cut him off again.

Her words died on her lips and she stared at him in shock. He continued to look back at her for a few seconds but then he had looked away.

"Marshall…" She whispered, her eyes widening slightly. "What happened? Is it because you missed your meeting with the minister to help with funeral arrangements?"

He ran a hand over his hair. "Partly…"

"I'll talk to her…Tell her it was my fault."

"No." He looked up at her.

"I can fix this for you…I'll tell her what we talked about and how much you love her…"

Marshall closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the brick wall behind him. "Mary, just leave it."

"Let me help you…I'm sure whatever her reasons are…"

"I was the one that ended it." He informed her. "So just…stop."

"You ended it?" She frowned. "But what about…"

"Mary, please…"

"Marshall, you asked me to release you….you told me to back off." She continued. "You did that because you love Abigail…because you want to marry her."

"It wasn't fair to either of us to continue with the relationship… Not with how things were."

"I don't understand…"

He looked across at her again. "I lied to you."

"What?"

"On the balcony…I lied to you about loving you…"

"You lied?" Her eyes narrowed. "What the hell?"

"Mare, wait…"

"You used your ex-girlfriend as an excuse to destroy our friendship?" She started to pace in front of him.

"It's not like that…"

"What is it like then?" She asked. "Is it your new job?"

"Mary, that's not what…"

"The new Chief can't be friends with just some lowly Inspector…"

"That's not it!" He insisted, his voice rising to be heard as he pushed away from the wall to block her pacing.

"Then what is it?" She threw her hands up in the air.

"I lied when I said I didn't love you 'like that'…" He explained. "I uh…"

Her mouth fell open in surprised. She didn't know what to say or do.

"I told you I loved you and you…and you froze." He said quietly. "I had to cover it up because I couldn't take it again if you ran…"

"Marshall…"

"I do care about Abigail and I know she loves me…I thought that was enough…I knew she could be happy spending the rest of her life with me and I thought I could learn to be happy with her but it wasn't fair."

"This is you freaking out about all the changes…" Mary concluded. "Me having Norah…You getting married and becoming Chief…Stan leaving…"

"This is me finally owning up to how I feel." He insisted. "Mare, I love you and it wasn't fair to Abigail to make a promise that I couldn't keep…I could never promise not to be there for you…"

Mary returned to her spot by the wall, her legs felt weak and she needed something to lean on.

"Since our conversation, all I keep thinking about you and how I wasn't there when you were kidnapped or shot…"

Her head snapped up to look at him. "We've talked about this…It wasn't your fault…It was you that helped me through it…"

"And there is no way I could not run to your side if anything like that happened again…"

She stared at him and then shook her head slightly in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me you guys broke up?"

"Because you turned up tonight with a guy…" Marshall replied. "Because you wanted to introduce him to your friends and family…"

"That's just Kenny…He's no one…" Mary assured him. "Just some guy I know…"

"Just some cowboy?" He questioned.

"Yeah, something like that." She replied, quietly.

Marshall sighed and leaned against the wall again. "I didn't want to tell you all this…Not like this…Not tonight."

"Then why did you?"

"Too much champagne?" He suggested.

"Okay…We'll go with that for now…" She replied, unconvinced.

"We should head back in." Marshall nodded towards the restaurant entrance. "Everyone must be wondering where we are."

"Let them." She shrugged.

"Your date must be worried…"

"Marshall, forget about Kenny." She told him. "This is about us…"

"Us?" He repeated. "There's an 'us' now?"

"There's always been an 'us'." She replied and paused for a moment. "I hated agreeing to what you said out on the balcony…"

"I wasn't trying to hurt you…"

"I know…" She gave him a small smile to assure him. "And I kept thinking about our friendship and how…messy it had become."

He swallowed nervously at the word 'messy.'

"You were right two years ago, Marshall…" She whispered. "I needed messy and I should have listened to you…"

"Mary…"

"But the thing is I have a daughter." She continued. "I can't do messy now…not when Norah is involved."

He felt tears burn in his eye but he blinked them away. "I know, Mare…"

She reached out and pulled him into a hug. Her arms going around his neck tightly and she buried her face into her shoulder. After a few seconds, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I might not be able to do messy but I can do a sort out…"

He pulled back and looked down at her confused. "What does that mean?"

She shrugged a little. "We just carry on as before except this time we don't deny our feelings and we see where things go…Sort out what's really going on between us…Find a definition…"

"You mean you want to…"

"The reason I never acted on my feelings before was because I was scared of losing you…That I would chase you away so I settled for friendship…" She explained. "But god Marshall…I nearly lost you to Abigail and I don't want to ever go through that again!"

He reached out and pushed some hair behind her ear. "We can take things slow…I just came out of a serious relationship…I probably need time to be alone for a bit."

She nodded. "We'll just see how things play out…I don't want to destroy our friendship…It's too important…you're too important."

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. "We should go back in."

"Just…One more minute?" She asked, leaning into his embrace. "It's been a long day…A long week."

He tightened his arms around her. "A long year."

"A long life…" She added. "But it's time to get on with the rest of our lives…and I'm finally ready to be here.

He smiled and kissed her forehead again. They stayed as they were, stood with their arms around each other in a silence that Mary knew he was the only one she could be comfortable sharing with.

That's how Delia found them when she stepped outside. She paused for a moment to watch them but knew better then to comment.

"Guys, Stan wants to make a toast."

Marshall looked over at her. "We'll be right in."

She gave a nod and smile before turning and disappearing again.

"Ready?" He looked down at her.

"Yeah…let's go." She replied.

He kept his arm around her shoulders and she let him lead her back into restaurant with her own arm around his waist and her head on his shoulder.

**The End **

**Please review! **


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